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Friday, June 22, 2012

The PCS Files: DLA and Flights

So, a couple of more things have happened that are necessary for our move to Japan.

1) We received our Dislocation Allowance (DLA).

Dislocation Allowance, or DLA, is an allowance given to military members when they are going to PCS. The amount varies based on rank/rate, but essentially, it is money given to you by the military because they know that moving can be expensive. We do not have to pay it back and it is given in one lump sum that was deposited into our bank account. It can be used for anything. We will be using it to help with things like a rental car, food, an airplane ticket for my husband (he has to fly back to the Naval Hospital for 2 weeks of overseas warfare training while we're in TN visiting family), and probably our hotel after we arrive in Japan (we pay for it upfront, but that expense will be reimbursed by the Navy). I won't lie. It's a nice perk of military life.

2) We got flights scheduled.

This was something that we were slightly concerned about because we are only a month from leaving for Japan. I'm not exactly sure what office handles the flights (and my husband isn't around for me to ask), but after he called and checked in, we received an email a few days later with our "Port Call." It's basically a travel itinerary. We found out that our flights were scheduled for the end of July. We were scheduled to take a commercial flight from our current residence to Washington State and then fly to Japan from there. However, because we're planning to be in TN for the month of July, we were really excited to find out that we had the option to switch our commercial flight to another airport for $30 per ticket. That was nothing to pay compared to flying or driving back here. Though we have tourist passports, we will need our government/no-fee passports for our flight to Japan. My husband had to go by the travel office and pick up our no-fee passports, along with a travel envelope for each of us and it was there that he was able to switch our commercials flights to an airport in TN.

So, everything seems to be moving right along and I think all that we really have left to do is actually move out next week. My pre-move survey is this afternoon and I'll be sure to blog about that and let you know what to expect. I think that someone just comes to the house to see how much stuff they will need for packing materials, but I also want to find out about things that I'm not allowed to move (cleaning supplies, food, etc.). We are sooo close!